Dragon won't eat crickets!!!

[fishwarr]

My dragon 'arnie' has completely gone off of crickets,  I've tried him on locusts and black crickets as I was told they are slower. He won't chase them down at all, if I put a bowl of waxworms in his tank he'll run over and demolish them, he also runs towards greens. I don't feed him waxworms too often and he won't touch mealworms. Ideas on what to do? My local vets have said starve him of food and when a cricket is put in he'll have to chase it?? Sounds a bit cruel if you ask me..is this fair?

[perfectly_flawed]

A lot of dragons stop eating crickets and prefer other foods. Healthy choices for him are crickets, locusts, feeder roachs (they can be hard to find in the UK), silkworms, and hornworms. Superworms can be given to a dragon over 16". Waxworms are not a good idea to feed him, they're fine a a treat (one or two once in a while) but should be no more than that. Mealworms should never be fed.

[fishwarr]

Thanks, I'm going to try and get hold of some roaches and worms of some kind. He is about 20" long, thanks again

[zebrajanie]

I found this, hope it helps.

http://reptilefoodsdirect.com/shop/article_339/Free-UK-Delivery-Mini-breeding-colony-Feeder-Dubia-Roaches.html?shop_param=cid%3D5%26aid%3D339%26

[fishwarr]

Thanks for your help there. I've tried him on some black crickets, gave him a long bath and he kept dunking his head and lapping the water off of him. I put him back in his tank and began spraying him he opened his mouth so I sprayed straight into it, after a while he closed his mouth...about half an hour later he literally pounced and took a locust off the wall! I then tried some black crickets...he munched about 15!! Most I've seen him eat for a very long time! Thanks again for the help..will try some roaches too

[perfectly_flawed]

It sounds like he was pretty dehydrated. Soaking for 15 minutes 2 or 3 times a week lets them soak up water through their vent and gives them the opportunity to drink if they want to. Not many dragons will drink from standing water, but most do in the bath.

[fishwarr]

Really? Blimey Ive not read that before, I usually spray him about 3-4 times a week obviously that's not enough. do you boil water then add cold to it so it's as free of bugs as possible..or just add warm water from tap when bathing? Thanks

[zebrajanie]

Just run the water straight into the bath.  Baby warm, or around 100*F.  Only enough to cover to the shoulder.  Never leave a bathing dragon Unsupervised even for a minute. 
Hope this helps.

[perfectly_flawed]

Spraying really doesn't do anything for them unless they drink the water droplets from their nose or furniture. Soaking allows them to absorb through the vent as well as giving them the chance to drink. I soak my dragons 3 or 4 times a week for at least 15 minutes each time.

[fishwarr]

Thanks he's one seriously spoiled dragon. He's lapping it all up. Thanks again, got my dragon back